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Fighting poverty will improve education

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Saturday November 3, 2012 6:27 AM

What we have not heard much about in these presidential debates is the alarming number of
Americans living in poverty and the increasing difficulty of moving out of poverty. In 2011, data
from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 46.2 million Americans live below the poverty line. This is
the largest number of Americans in poverty in almost 20 years.

Considering $250,000 is “middle class” in these debates, a person is under the poverty threshold
when he makes less than $11,484 a year and for a family of four, less than $23,021. There is a huge
gap between poverty and middle class, and neither candidate's tax plan nor vision for our country’s
future has addressed the nearly 50 million Americans living in poverty; rather, the focus has been
on reducing entitlements.By cutting these programs and offering no alternate ideas for how people
will meet their basic needs, we are waging war on poor people, not poverty.

Poverty reduction always has been focused on personal responsibility as a way to rise out of
poverty, accomplished through education and working hard. A study in 1995 found the average
low-income child enters kindergarten with a listening vocabulary of 17,000 fewer words than a child
of middle-income parents and can recognize only nine letters of the alphabet, compared with 22 by a
middle-income child. Knowing this, is it possible that resolving poverty actually will fix many of
our education issues?

We live in a state and nation with a minimum wage, not a livable wage, so no matter how hard
some people work, they may not be paid enough to ensure that they and their families can avoid
poverty. If working hard and education are not guaranteed paths out of poverty, what is? The
pomposity often displayed toward those living in poverty makes it easier to justify cutting
safety-net programs.

Living in poverty does not mean one is experiencing a luxurious life on the taxpayer’s dime. It
is constantly worrying about paying the bills so one can have a roof over his head and food on the
table and hoping one can afford school clothes for his children.

We need leaders who understand and plan to govern everyone, regardless of income level. We are a
stronger nation when doors to prosperity are opened to all.